Breast cancer prevention and how you help others in your community

You can help lower your risk of breast cancer in the following ways—• Get screened for breast cancer regularly. By getting regular exams, you’re more likely to find breast cancer early.• Control your weight and exercise. Make healthy choices in the foods you eat and the kinds of drinks you have each day. Stay active. Learn more about keeping a healthy weight and ways to increase your physical activity. • Know your family history of breast cancer. If you have a mother, father, sister, brother, son, or daughter with breast cancer, ask your doctor what is your risk of getting breast cancer and how you can lower your risk.• Find out the risks and benefits of hormone replacement therapy. Some women use hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to treat the symptoms of menopause. Ask your doctor about the risks and benefits of HRT and find out if it is right for you. To learn more about HRT, visit the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and the National Cancer Institute (NCI)—Menopausal Hormone Therapy and Cancer.• Limit the amount of alcohol you drink.

You can help prevent breast cancer in your community. Get involved in community groups that help friends and neighbors get screened for breast cancer, and reduce their risk by helping them exercise and maintain a healthy weight.

Join your community’s comprehensive cancer control program. CDC supports comprehensive cancer control (CCC) programs in all 50 states and many American Indian/Alaska Native tribes and U.S. territories. CCC programs bring together cancer experts, survivors, advocates, and other organizations to plan ways to prevent and control breast and other cancers.

Increase screening in your community. Giving information to members of your community through newsletters, brochures, and pamphlets is an effective way to increase use of screening services. Research has shown other activities by community groups are effective as well. For more information, see CDC’s Guide to Community Preventive Services. For tools, visit Cancer Control P.L.A.N.E.T.

Encourage exercise in your neighborhood. Working with your community to provide better locations for physical activity, such as parks and sidewalks, is an effective way to increase activity. For more information, see CDC’s Guide to Community Preventive Services. For tools, visit Cancer Control P.L.A.N.E.T.

Help members of your community maintain a healthy weight. Workplace programs to change diet and promote physical activity have been found to be effective. For more information on community efforts to support a healthy weight, visit CDC’s Guide to Community Preventive Services. For tools related to diet and physical activity, visit Cancer Control P.L.A.N.E.T.

For more information about breast cancer prevention, visit the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Breast Cancer (PDQ): Prevention and the Community Guide to Preventive Services.

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